Drone strike near Suez Canal in Egypt raises new security threat in widening war
Add BT as a preferred source
[DUBAI] A drone strike on gas vessels in Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta signalled a potential new front in the US-Iran war, raising the prospect of threats to navigation through the Suez Canal, a last remaining safe export route for Saudi oil.
The Egyptian Cabinet said on Thursday (Jul 30) that an initial investigation showed that an unidentified drone caused a fire on Wednesday on two vessels at Damietta port, near the Suez Canal, which links the Mediterranean with the Red Sea.
No group has claimed responsibility, the Cabinet said, adding that authorities were taking measures to protect Egypt’s national security.
Trading sources familiar with the incident said the drone hit US-owned gas storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that spread to another vessel.
Overnight, the US military said it struck Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ military command centres and drone facilities after Teheran fired at US forces in the region.
Iranian state media, quoting the Guards, said three civilians were killed and two children wounded in US strikes on Qeshm Island, while three Guards members were killed in Zanjan province.
The governor of Khuzestan province, cited by Iranian state media, said two student dormitory complexes in the southwestern city of Ahvaz were damaged in the overnight attacks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it struck the US-run Azraq base in Jordan in response to the US strikes.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment about damage at the Azraq base.
US bases in Jordan have lately become primary Iranian targets. Jordan’s armed forces said earlier on Thursday they had intercepted five Iranian missiles.
An Iranian attack also hit a building owned by a Chinese company in northern Kuwait, killing a worker and inflicting significant damage, Kuwait’s Defence Ministry said.
In a first in the five-month war, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday publicly joined strikes alongside US forces, targeting Iran-aligned groups in eastern Iraq, in retaliation for drone attacks on Saudi oil targets launched from Iraq.
After the joint attacks, Saudi Arabia’s defence minister met Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Wednesday to urge the Trump administration not to escalate the conflict further, two sources told Reuters.
The war began in February, when the US and Israel launched a bombing campaign in Iran that President Donald Trump said would last only a few weeks. A temporary ceasefire agreement in June collapsed amid renewed fighting over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway that Iran says it now controls.
The latest strikes in Iraq and Egypt threatened to draw more Middle Eastern countries into the conflict after the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade last week on Saudi Arabia, threatening the alternative Red Sea route for its oil to Asia.
Attacks on ships by the Houthi militants prompted London’s marine insurance market to widen its “high risk” zone in the Red Sea to include more of the coast adjacent to Saudi Arabian ports.
Trump said he would hit Iran hard for firing missiles at US forces, but that Washington was also still seeking a peace deal to end a conflict that has roiled global energy and finance markets.
Oil prices soared more than 8 per cent on Wednesday, before easing 1 per cent on Thursday in volatile trade, with benchmark Brent crude trading just below the US$90 mark. REUTERS
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
